Shattered Vows

Ifunanya07

Elena

There’s a kind of silence in marriage that feels more suffocating than a scream. Not the silence of peace—but the silence of secrets.

That’s the kind of silence I’ve been living in.

To everyone else, I’m Elena Hart. Accomplished. Beautiful. Successful. A woman with a dream career in psychiatry, a picture-perfect home, a husband most women would envy, and a life that gleams from the outside like polished glass.

But anyone who’s ever touched glass knows how easily it shatters.

That morning, I did what I always do. I got up before him, prepared his favorite breakfast—sourdough toast, scrambled eggs with truffle oil, and black coffee—and dressed in the soft silk robe he bought me in Paris. Everything was exactly as he liked it.

I set the table. The flowers were fresh. The morning sun filtered through the sheer curtains, warm and golden. Perfection. At least on the surface.

Daniel walked in like he always did—confident, composed, already halfway into the version of himself he wore for the world. His tie was draped around his neck, his shirt sleeves rolled neatly at the wrists. He looked… expensive. Desired. Mine.

Or at least, he used to be.

“Smells incredible,” he said, placing a quick kiss on my cheek. His lips were cool. Dry. I barely felt them.

I smiled anyway. “You have that client pitch today, right?”

“Yeah. Max wants to finalize the proposal before noon.”

Max. His business partner. Convenient excuse. I nodded. I knew Max was out of the country. Angela, his wife, had told me at the last PTA meeting.

I reached over to grab the scarf draped over the back of his chair—his favorite gray one. I always fold it for him before he leaves. But this time, something made me pause.

A strand of hair was clinging to it.

Long. Golden. Glossy. Blonde.

Not mine.

My fingers curled around it slowly, like I was touching something diseased.

“Everything okay?” Daniel asked, glancing up from his phone.

I hid the hair behind my back and smiled. “Of course. Just tired.”

I excused myself, walked calmly to the sink, and let the hair float into the drain. It slid down like it had every right to be there. Like it belonged.

It didn’t.

After he left, I stood in the doorway for a long time, watching the silence settle around the house like dust.

Then I walked upstairs to our bedroom, pulled out the black leather-bound notebook I usually reserved for case notes on trauma and abuse, and wrote something I never thought I’d write about my own life.

April 2nd

Blonde hair on scarf.

Phone always turned face down.

Increased business trips.

Eye contact decreasing.

Physical intimacy—robotic.

Max is not in town.

Conclusion: High probability of infidelity.

Response: Observe. Do not confront yet. Collect evidence.

I closed the notebook. My pulse was steady. Too steady.

There’s a particular kind of madness in being lied to by someone who still kisses you good morning.

But I wasn’t angry. Not yet.

I was intrigued.

Because Daniel may have crossed a line. But I haven’t even started drawing mine.

And if he thought he could betray me quietly…

He clearly forgot who the hell he married.